1. Roman Polanski Flees: On the eve of sentencing for his guilty plea to sex with a 13-year-old, the filmmaker hopped a plane out of the United States. Nearly 35 years on, Polanski hasn't come back—and prosecutors here don't consider the case closed.

Rose Prouser/REUTERS; REUTERS/Fred Prouser

2. Charlie Sheen Gets Outed as Charlie Sheen: In videotaped testimony at Heidi Fleiss' 1995 pandering trial, the Platoon star, who was then actually known as "the Platoon star," confirmed he was one of the madam's best and highest-profile customers. Two and a Half Men and a Comedy Central roast ensued.

3. Michael Jackson's Corpse Appears: The manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, accused of administering a fatal dose of propofol to the pop star, was never more disturbing than when prosecutors displayed a photo of the naked and dead Jackson. The photo is still so shocking that we give you warning: Don't click on this link to our coverage of the photo if you don't want to see it.

Lee Celano/WireImage.com

4. The Gloves Don't Fit O.J. Simpson: Well, actually, the brand of Isotoners investigators said were left behind by Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman's killer did fit the onetime football hero. The unexpected problem for prosecutors was that the actual crime-scene gloves, bloodied and stiff, didn't.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

5. Robert Blake's Defense Plays the Blame Game: At a hearing in the murder trial of the In Cold Blood star, the actor's attorney didn't just argue his client was innocent in the shooting death of his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley, he pointed the finger at Marlon Brando's son Christian Brando, who had been a former boyfriend of Bakley. Nothing ever came of the accusation, which investigators dismissed as groundless, but Blake went on to win an acquittal anyway.

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